Inaki
by ivy-tsuta
Summary: Naruto is in for a different Team 7 this time around. Team 8! Consisting of his best friend and his dog *wink wink* and a loud blond almost as loud as himself. Rewrite of Kitsune, Inu, and Ino Under the Nightfall.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: **Hello again, everyone! Once again I would like to apologize to anyone that liked the other story better. I didn't feel it to be to my best ability, even though I don't think I can ever get that far... So anyway, if you wonder about the title it is the beginning from our three main characters names; Ino, Naruto and Kiba. This story will be much better- I hope so, at least. Arigato if you are still with me. About the dates, I do it so that you can have an idea about what time in the year it is. Cold or warm? Holiday or not? Hm...

* * *

The basics:

Writing

_Flashbacks_

"talking"

'_thoughts_'

**"Bijuu or Inner talking"**

**'**_**Bijuu or Inner thinking**_**'**

(_**AN:**_author notes during story)

_**Inaki**_

_**Chapter 1**_

_June 1st; 7:30am_

The gray sky released a slight rumble as a boy no older than twelve walked to the Academy. A big smile was on his face, and he clenched his fist around the warm hiate-ate in his pocket, warm from his hand. It was his symbol of passing the Graduation Exam. Though he didn't pass very normally unless beating up a to-be Missing Nin and saving your teacher was normal. He peered at the swing that was in front of the school through soaked blond locks. He remembered meeting his best friend Kiba there.

--- _Flashback- January 21st; 7:37pm_

_The sky was turning a dark gray as a storm approached. The sun hung low in the sky, waiting to sleep. The young boy, around eight now, known as Naruto was sitting at the lone swing, staring at the ground._

_"Damn it!"_

_He looked up, revealing sharp blue eyes swirling with emotion and three whisker scars on each cheek, a testament of what he held within. He was instantly alert, having to be when most of a village scorned your name. He soon spotted the resource of the noise, which was a boy that had on a grayish tan short sleeved shirt with dark gray shorts. He seemed to be around the same age as himself. The most interesting thing, other than his slitted charcoal eyes, were the red fangs that looked to be tattooed to his cheeks. He started searching in the bushes for something when he noticed the blond._

_The brunette boy rushed over, panting from the cold air filling his lungs. "Hey, can you help me," he huffed between gasps of air._

_The other boy seemed to think it over, going over the pros and cons. Good thing, he could get a friend; bad thing, he would have another person hate him. The pros definitely outweighed the bad things since it wouldn't matter if one other person hated him anyway. "Sure." He shrugged and nodded. "Why not?"_

_"Thank you!" He turned to run off again but remembered his manners and faced his opposite. "I'm Kiba, by the way."_

_"Naruto." Comprehension dawned on the dog-like boy, and before he lost his chance to make a friend, Naruto blurt out what he used to distract Kiba. "What are you looking for?"_

_"Huh?" Kiba shook his head, sweat flying off, telling how hard he was working in the cold air. "Oh right, I'm looking for my dog Akamaru. He's small and white with some brown." Kiba bowed his head, embarrassed. "He chased after a squirrel." He shot his head up again, looking frantic. "Not that I let him! I chased after that squ- I mean after Akamaru and tried to tell him to stop but he wouldn't listen!"_

_"Right." Naruto drawled out, scepitcal. He looked at the sky. "We better hurry. It'll get dark soon. And it's hard to search when it's raining and dark."_

_"Well, duh, of course it's hard to search in those conditions." Kiba shook his head in exasperation. He lead Naruto to where Akamaru chased the squirrel into the forest._

_He groaned when he saw how thick the trees were. "He just had to run in _that _forest. There are lots of them and he chose on of the most dense!" Naruto growled, flashing sharp teeth. Kiba stared in shock, then grinned showing canines just the same. "Well," the blond stretched his shoulders, getting ready, "We're not getting anywhere standing out here." He strode forward as confidently as he was able, fear showing in his eyes at the prospect of what could be in the trees. Kiba followed, sadness unhidden at the idea that his dog -his best friend- could be dead or worse._

_The sky steadily grew darker as the boys made their way about the trees. "Akamaru!" Kiba yelled for the sixth time. "Where are you?!" He seemed to be looking on the brighter side of things, saying things like 'Maybe he found his way out and we're looking in here for nothing.' That didn't put Naruto in a good mood, cranky about being cold and hungry, stuck with this dog crazy boy who talked nonstop. He paused, listening to the woods around them. Though it was thought by him to be impossible, he swore he heard a faint bark._

_"Hey Naruto, did you hear that?" Kiba voiced what he was about to say. The brunette spun to face the direction he heard his dog, caution thrown to the wind. "C'mon!" They soon reached a river cutting through the forest. It wasn't to wide, but looked to be very deep judging from how the recent rains had left some of the wider rivers swelled to now._

_Searching for anything that could be Akamaru, Naruto pointed out a dirty object in the muddy water. "There!" The dog's fur was slicked down to cling tightly to him, making him look small and scrawny. He was resting on a raft of debris that got caught between the shores making a dam of sorts. Most of his body was on it but his legs hung over the edge; not having enough strength to pull himself up._

_Kiba took a step toward the dam, but stopped when he heard a splash from beside him. Water engulfed Naruto's form, the mud blurring his vision. Kiba's face turned into a mask of panic. He let it slip once he saw Naruto swimming upstream to help his puppy. "Are you crazy!? You'll drown!" He was fastly ignored by the struggling blond. He was having trouble to stay up, face turned toward the sky. He took his time, if not it was both him and Akamaru. He pulled his torso up on the debris mat without trying to get the rest of himself up, knowing that it would most likely collapse if he did._

_He reached his numb hands out to grab the shivering dog, when the sky lit up and the cold rain he predicted came down on them in a torrent. He hesitated momentarily then grabbed the dog. Naruto pushed him out in front of himself, watching to make sure Akamaru's head didn't go under. The rain blinded him, the water whipping around him stinging his body. It felt as if needles were pricking at him, the feeling of numbness almost slowed him. He cleared his mind. He had to save this dog! Kiba watched them worriedly, soaked quite thoroughly. At the last few feet, he pushed the choking puppy out of the water toward his master. Kiba grabbed Akamaru and set him down beside him. The worn out pup lay there hardly seeming to breathe._

_Naruto felt the last of his strength slipping away. He tried not to grasp the darkness but it was so warm. So comforting... He was grabbed by the scruff of his new orange jumpsuit that he just bought yesterday. The lady was nice enough to let him have one for free. She glared the whole time though. '_No! If this is the end, think happy memories!' _He thought about the Sandaime Hokage, all that he had down for him. "Jiji..." he mumbled through frozen, blue lips. He welcomed the darkness with open arms._

_--- January 22nd; 2:30am_

_When he awoke, he was more then surprised. He was in a comfortable bed that was not his own, with blankets all around him. Wiggling to get free of the bonds, he set up the best he could. He smelt food coming his way and noticed how famished he really was. The door opened to show a girl that looked distinctly like Kiba. She looked to be about thirteen, five years older than himself. Her brown hair was pulled up in a ponytail. She also had the red fangs trailing down her cheeks, but looked less feral than her kin. She was holding steamy warmth, smiling when she noticed he was awake._

_"Oh good, your up." She set the bowl on the side table. Naruto stared at it, but drug his attention back to the girl when she started talking again. "Kiba brought you here. You were both soaked to the bone and poor Akamaru could barely lift his paws." She sat on the end of the bed, the bed only slightly dipping with her weight added. "I'm Inuzuka Hana, Kiba's sister. My mother didn't look so well when you got drug through the door, but didn't complain once Kiba told her you saved Akamaru. He really has to teach that dog some discipline!"_

_"Ano, I really should go..." He didn't want to but he also didn't want to disturb the family. He moved to slide out of the bed, searching for his clothes._

_"Nonsense! You stay here. " She pushed him back into the comfortable bed. "I'll get Kiba." She stood and walked out to find her brother. Once she was gone, another female walked in. She was definitely older, with wild hair that spiked a lot like Kiba's. She also had the red triangles on her cheeks, signifying that she was an Inuzuka._

_Her mouth was in a smirk as she stood towering over Naruto. "Well, well. It seems that a fox has made it's way into a dog's territory." She laughed at her own joke. "Nah, I'm just kidding. Your okay, gaki." Naruto fumed but didn't say anything against the lady that was letting him stay in her house. "So," she drawled, "Why'd ya do it?" When he opened his mouth to ask what she meant, she must have seen the confusion displayed across his expression and explained. "I mean why did you save Akamaru?"_

_"Why wouldn't I?_

_"I- You know what, never mind. You did and that's what matters." Her smirk found its way back onto her face. "So then, gaki, you want to stay the night?" He closed his mouth, face set into a grim look. "What's with that look?"_

_"I... I can't stay. I have to go home." He wouldn't let this lady hurt him, not until she proved herself that she wasn't going to. Old man said not to trust anyone that much without consulting him first. He couldn't just stay here._

_"Okay then, gaki." There was a tone of question in her voice, though she didn't push him for answers. "Say good bye to Kiba first, then you can leave." At that moment the boy came into the room with his sister behind him. A large smile was on his face as he spotted Naruto in the bed._

_"Hey, your okay. I thought you were going to die." Naruto mumbled something to himself. Kiba couldn't hear it, not having started his training in Inuzuka skills yet; Hana and his mother heard it quite well though. _'So did I.'

_"Well, we'll leave you alone; after that you can leave if you wish. If you change your mind tell me. Name's Tsume by the way." She said as she walked out the door. Her daughter shut the door behind her as she trailed out after her mother._

_"Arigato." Kiba said quickly, fighting down his blush of embarrassment. "I would have been devastated if I lost my best friend." Naruto did his best to not look at the boy, not liking the way someone was thanking him. He wasn't used to praise and it made him awkward. "Also, I'm so sorry. You could have been killed all because of me. I would have been guilty for the rest of my life."_

_"That's alright." The blond whispered, trying to not jump up and leave already. "I have to go home." He slid out of the warm bed shotting a longing glance at the bowl of soup that lay forgotten by all but him._

_"Are you sure? Kaa-san said you could stay, you know." Kiba looked a bit too hopeful, but Naruto pushed down the guilt that had washed over him. He couldn't do it. He was afraid of getting hurt. It happened to many times before. The lady that gave him a piece of poisoned bread. The man who let him into his home only to try to kill him. Fruit vendors. Shop owners. Anyone._

_"No, I do have to go." He gathered his damp clothes from the trunk at the foot of the bed. Putting them on quickly, he was surprised when Kiba spoke up once again._

_"Yeah, I guess you're right. Your parents are probably worried about you." A pang hit Naruto hard. He paused in the process of putting his shirt on as he tried to gather his bearings. He identified the feeling as sadness, but it was unlike the normal sadness that was just there. This one was deeper, hurt harder._

_"Y-Yeah. So I really have to go now." He finished sliding his head through the shirt, smoothing it out once he did. He waited by the door for Kiba to escort him to the front door. It seemed as though the other boy was brooding over why his new friend -if you could call him that- wouldn't stay. "Hey, um, Kiba..._ _I don't know where the door is."_

_"Hm?" He jumped slightly, looking at Naruto. "O-Oh, right." He opened the door, leading the way down a hallway. They passed through the living room and stopped in front of a wooden door that look hand carved, with powerful dogs standing guard. "I'll see you later?"_

_"Maybe." Naruto moved over the threshold and faced Kiba. "Thank you. Tell that to your family, too." He walked out without looking back. Kiba watched him go to the bottom of the walk, then closed the door. Silence settled over the home._

_--- January 22, 8:03am_

_Naruto yawned right as he walked through the door. Iruka was just settling down the class to get ready for the rest of the school day, when he noticed the blond. "Naruto, take a seat!" he barked out. He did as he was told and went to one of the empty ones, one with nobody else. He glanced around blearily and noticed a familiar face._

_"Kiba?" The boy, hearing his name, looked around. He spotted Naruto and grinned, taking the empty chair next to him._

_"Naruto! Hey, what's up?" He didn't give Naruto a chance to answer before he was talking again. "See. You didn't believe we would see each other. Now we can see each other whenever!" Akamaru, who Naruto just noticed was in Kiba's hood, barked a greeting. He hopped out and licked his hand that was resting on the table. "He said thanks for saving his life."_

_"You understand dogs?" Kiba looked proud at his ability._

_"Yep. It's a special trait that the Inuzuka Clan has. We base all our skills off of teamwork with dogs. Eventually, we adopted sharp teeth," he flashed his in a smile, "sharp nails," once again he showed off the aforementioned items,"and good noses and ears." He stopped his lecture. "My clan is awesome." He stated it like a fact._

_"Shut up!!" Iruka strained his vocal cords. Everyone quieted down instantly, a deathly still falling over the classroom. Iruka smiled, the scar on his nose curling along. "Good, now we can begin."_

_--- Flashback End_

_June 1st; 7:40am_

He opened the door, shaking his head like a wet dog. Maybe he was picking to many things up from Kiba...? Naruto searched until he found the most familiar face in the crowd of students. He plopped down next to him, rain water splashing up the the other boy.

"Hey! You're getting me wet!" Kiba growled. He faced the perpetrator only to find his smiling friend. "Naruto?! I thought I smelt you." To anyone else, that might seem weird. "What are you doing here?" Akamaru popped his furry head out of Kiba's jacket to bark out something.

"What makes you think that I wouldn't pass?" Naruto said, freigning innocence. Somewhere in the back off his mind, he wondered what he smelt like.

"Hm, I don't know. Maybe it was that you didn't come to celebrate with me?" Kiba teased. Naruto blushed, but growled to cover it.

"Well anyway, I beat up Mizuki. He asked me if I wanted to pass. I, of course, said yes. If I didn't who would look after you?" He ignored the glare he got in response. "That's how I passed. He was actually a traitor and wanted to tried to kill me and Iruka-sensei." He shook the remaining moisture, that was going to drip into his eyes, off. Kiba laughed, scooting away. Best not to tell him all the details.

"Awesome!" If Naruto knew his friend like he knew he knew him, he would ask how. And he couldn't, he had already told him all that he could. Sandaime swore him to secrecy. So he was grateful, no matter how much it hurt, when two girls burst in the room screaming.

"I win!!" Sakura and Ino yelled at the same time, struggling to get past each other through the door.

"Ow! My ears, they're bleeding!" Kiba swore loudy, clamping his hands over his ears, being a bit over dramatic in the process. He banged his head on the table to try to divert the pain else where, Akamaru leaping out of his jacket as to not get squished between Kiba and the table.

"Sa~suke-kun!" Ino and Sakura completely ignored the boy they caused pain, instead opting to fight over who got to sit next to Sasuke. They didn't even seem to notice poor Kiba, anyway.

"I swear if I get one of them on my team..." Kiba left the threat hanging. He instead picked up Akamaru and layed him in his lap.

Naruto was watching Sakura, then switched his gaze to the boy the two girls were fighting over. He settled into a glare. Uchiha Sasuke was everything girls loved and everything he hated. He was cool, aloof, and silent. But he also had a tragic past making girls want to help make it better with their love. It was a sickening sight.

"But Kiba... Sakura-chan is..." He trailed off, not getting the right words. How could he tell his best friend that she was actually his first friend. Or what he called a friend. All she had really done was smile at him, but it was enough for Naruto. "She's..." He took a different path. "I hope she's on my team."

"Yeah well, I hope I get Hinata and you. That would be great. No loud girls, no annoying banshee fangirls, my best friend, and my dog. Perfect." He sighed and leaned back. Akamaru took that chance to hop back on the desk. He lay down in front of Naruto, wanting to be pet. The blond complied, stroking the dog's soft fur.

"Everybody pay attention." Iruka said loud enough for all the students to hear. His arm was bandaged from where a stray kunai hit him, and Naruto knew under the flak jacket his torso was too. "Today, you are beginning your career as a ninja. It will be dangerous, and if you do not stay alert at all times your life and the lives of your teammates could be in danger." Iruka had always liked long speeches, making sure to get everything he wanted through. "In the real world it is a matter of life and death, not weather you pass or not. It can be scary sometimes, and that is why your Jonin sensei will be there; to protect you from harm." He raised one finger in the air to push his point. "They will not baby you, though. I will cut this short and get to naming the teams, as I can see you are all excited." He pulled out a clipboard and read off Team One.

"Team Seven; Haruno Sakura,-" Naruto crossed his fingers under the desk. "Uchiha Sasuke,-" he mumbled a small 'Come on.' Kiba glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. Nobody in the room was aware of the tension. "-and Nara Shikamaru under­­­ Hatake Kakashi."

Naruto released the breath he didn't know he was holding. "No. Sakura-cha~an..." He said lowly to himself. He buried his hands in his still damp hair in despair.

"Come on, Naruto. It's not that bad. There's still the chance for you to be with me on a team." Kiba tried futilely to cheer up his friend.

Naruto sighed. The pink haired girl was rubbing it in Ino's face that she got Sasuke's team. Ino growled in response.

"That's enough. Now Team 8 is Uzumaki Naruto, Inuzuka Kiba-" Said boys highfived loudly, interrupting Iruka's list. The scarred Chuunin glared at them briefly, then announced the last member. "And Yamanaka Ino-" He was once again cut off, this time by a groan from the blond girl.

Ino thumped her head on the desk. "Why?" she almost sobbed out. "What have I done to deserve this?! I don't get Sasuke-kun's team, but Sakura does. Then now, I get a smelly dog-boy and the dead last. This is horrible."

Kiba and Naruto glanced at each other. They looked back at Ino. "Ino, we don't really like you either," Kiba said, stating it like a fact.

Ino's head whipped up a glare in her eyes. "Just shut up! This day couldn't get any worse."

Iruka was tired of all of the interuptions. "No more of these. Everyone will be quiet _now_." Once the students attention was back on him, he smiled brightly. "Team 8's sensei will be Yuuhi Kurenai." He sighed once the sentence was over, expecting at least one more cut off. "Good. Team 9 is still in commission so Team 10 will be Akimichi Chouji, Hyuuga Hinata, and Aburame Shino under Sarutobi Asuma."

Iruka stood from his chair. "Wait here until your sensei arrives to pick you up."

After a while only Team 7 and 8 were left. Both of the girls were sitting next to Sasuke who did nothing to stop them, but he didn't promote them either. Shikamaru took to sitting with Naruto and Kiba, Akamaru on his master's lap.

Kiba pat Shikamaru on the back. His head dropped out of his hands, hitting the table with a loud thump. "I feel bad for you." He had been staring at the trio that wasn't his own. "You got Sakura _and _Sasuke; a banshee, no offense Naruto," The blond took none, shaking his head to let him know; "and a stuck up prick."

Shikamaru tried so hard to make himself feel better. "You got, well you got Ino." A small smile was on his face. It was quickly replaced when Naruto drowned his hopes.

"Shika, that's one thing."

The door slid open again. Everyone's eyes moved to see a lady with ruby red eyes. She smiled, looking over the children. Her hair was a dark brunette; wavy, long. "Team 8, follow me."

* * *

That completes the first rewritten chapter of Inaki! Tell me how you like it and if you like it better than Kitsune, Inu, and Ino Under the Nightfall. Also I've decicded not to delete my other story, it will stay where it is.

~ivy


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: **Alright, let's get this story on a roll. I have decided to do some things differently, which is like a major difference. You'll notice it right away, once it comes to that point in the story, from KIaIUtN (such a long title...) if you read it. So, yeah. I feel so ashamed that my other story didn't work out, and I will try to update more often. But that probably won't happen... ^_^;

And since I think it's not fair if I didn't put this here, thank you once again **Nebula1701**for telling me about Kurenai.

_**Inaki**_

_**Chapter 2**_

_---June 2nd; 8:45am_

The new Team Eight followed their teacher to what Kurenai explained as Training Ground Thirty-seven. When they looked around, they noticed a nice pond surrounded by cattails, giving the place a refreshing feel. Trees were spares but tall, with a dense forest starting not far from where they were standing, and the ground was covered thickly by lush grass.

"So," Kurenai said catching her new students attention, "How about we introduce ourselves, seeing as we're going to be teammates for a while from now on." She sat down, tucking her legs under her body since she was in a dress. "I'll go first." The team took this as a signal to sit down as well, naturally crowding around in a semi-circle, Ino, sitting like Kurenai, first then going to the right, Akamaru, Kiba, and Naruto at the end. After everyone was comfortable on the grass she started talking again.

"My name is Yuuhi Kurenai. I just recently got Jounin so you guys are my first students. I like missions that are exciting," she paused with a faint pink paint her face, but she seemed to reconsider and say something else, "Genjutsu, since they're what I'm known for, people who have a lot of will to move forward, and sometimes I go out for dango with my friend Anko." She paused to take a breath. "My dislikes are people who judge people before they get to know them, and I really hate _perverts_." Her students, the male ones anyway, flinched under her glare while Ino smirked slightly. She recomposed herself, smoothing out any wrinkles in her dress. "And my hobbies include tending to plants, flowers and the likes. My dream is to become of the best in the Shinobi Nations at Genjutsu with my new goal being to help you guys," she motioned to the three (four) before her, "become the best ninja you can, and I would go to _any_length to do so." Her determined look melted into a soft one as she choose Ino to introduce herself.

Ino nodded and started, "I'm Yamanaka Ino. I like my friends, working hard to achieve something, but mostly," her voice turned dreamy, "Sasuke-kun." She glared at nothing in particular as she said, "I strongly dislike Forehead aka Sakura, Naruto, and Kiba." Naruto glared at her a little, but she didn't notice. "My hobbies are working at my parent's flower shop, stal- I mean _watching _Sasuke-kun," she giggled, ignoring Naruto and Kiba's disgusted looks, "and tending to flowers. My dream is to get Sasuke-kun to like me back so we can start a family with two kids-" She seemed like she was going to go on but Kurenai cleared her throat telling her silently to move on. She laughed sheepishly and did. "I will become a good kunoichi," she said strongly, "I will not be useless."

'_Not too bad... she could be better but I'm not asking for a miracle. She's not completely obsessed, if she was she would have only answered about him. She has potential with her clan jutsu, but I will help her with even more._' Kurenai nodded her approval at Ino, who smiled and pet Akamaru. He loughed his tounge, panting slightly.

"Alright, not bad. Your turn Naruto." She turned her ruby gaze to her other blond student.

Naruto grinned brightly and began, "I'm Uzumaki Naruto! I love, love, love the miracle that is ramen, Sakura-chan, and I guess I like Kiba." Kurenai now understood why he glared at Ino, she disliked everything he liked. "My dislikes are the three minutes for my precious ramen to cook, and Sasuke-teme. I don't really have a hobby, but I guess I look after plants, kinda," he dismissed the idea easily, "playing pranks, and training. And my dream is to become Hokage; the best Hokage, better then even Yondaime!" He jumped up and gave the victory sign, a foxy grin on his lips.

Ino snorted at him, but his good mood would not be deterred.

'_Ramen fanatic... It really is like people say. So Ino and Naruto, though looking alike, are complete opposites._'

"Good job, Naruto." He smiled even bigger then before. "Kiba, would you?"

"Hai, sensei. My name is Inuzuka Kiba. My likes are hanging out with Akamaru, Naruto, and some of my other friends and sometimes Hana-nee-chan. We don't do anything really, just sit around or something fun. I also like learning about my clan style. I dislike animal abuse, cats, and that messenger ninja that wakes me up in the morning.," he growled the last part. "I guess my hobbies are training and going on walks with Akamaru and sometimes Naruto goes too. My dream is to become the best Inuzuka, not just be stuck in tracking, but become better than just that." Kiba stated the last one proudly.

'_So Kiba wraps it up. He seems outgoing, and that coupled with Naruto just asks for trouble. I'm gonna have my hands full._'

"You guys have weird dreams," Ino said, arms wrapped around her knees, looking quite bored. "Don't you want to get married, or have kids? Something normal."

Naruto answered first, since it looked like Kiba wasn't going to anyway. He just blushed and looked away. "Of course I'm gonna get married. To Sakura-chan, once she realises how great I am she'll be right next to me, telling me how much she loves me. And our children will have beautiful green eyes and be perfect. And when I'm Hokage, Sasuke will be all the way at the bottom, still a Genin and Sakura-chan will laugh at him. And-" Kiba pushed him, making the blond boy stumble. He whipped around to look at him.

"Naruto, you're going into 'Sakura Mode'. It's annoying." Kurenai smiled slightly, taking in the scene. Naruto sheepishly rubbed the back of his head with a small grin to quickly follow. Ino smirked at Kiba.

"So, you don't like Forehead either, huh?" Kiba hesitated, glancing at Naruto out of the corner of his eye, before nodding. "Well, this is perfect. We can start a club." Kiba grinned at her, teeth flashing in the late afternoon sun.

He chuckled before laughing. "Ah, I don't think Naruto would like that very much. Right, Naruto?" The boy still on the ground, the other two already having stood, silently glared at his friend. Kurenai decided she should break it up before it turned into a fight.

"Well guys," her students turned to stare at her, forgetting she was there, "How about some dinner?"

"Ramen?" Naruto asked hopefully, blue eyes wide and innocent.

Before another almost fight broke out Kurenai answered, "No, I'm sorry Naruto. We're not having ramen, maybe some other time." His face fell and she was sure she heard him say, 'Have to hit up, Iruka-sensei.'

"We are going-

---

-to the dango stand." They stood outside of the cozy little restaurant, were you had to eat outside on benches. The area was lit with paper lanterns even though is was yet to be dark, making it seem to glow with a golden warmth. Warm air wafted from the inside, bringing along with it a delicious bakery smell. A cheerful waitress waited on her orders nicely, with a smile that didn't look forced, only genuine.

She chose a bench close to the actual kitchen, but on the out-skirts of the other ones. Team Eight followed her, Akamaru with his nose in the air, obviously sniffing. The waitress came over and announced that her name was 'Saiya'. She smiled softly, "Kurenai-san, back already. Anko-san was here again today. She left not that long ago." Kurenai nodded at the younger girl, smiling when she heard about Anko. "Do you need menus?"

"No, thank you. Just four orders of what I always get."

"Okay, be back in a bit."

"So, have you ever had dango?" Kurenai asked, curious to know even more about her students.

Kiba nodded, "Yeah, my sister dragged me to go with her before. It's okay, I guess." He put Akamaru from his lap to the ground, where the white puppy curled up under the bench. Ino also nodded but didn't comment, which was a bit odd, but she seemed preoccupied with looking around some more. Naruto blushed when she met his blue gaze, and he bowed his head. He mumbled something, to which Kiba smirked but Kurenai frowned not being able to hear him.

"Speak up, you're eager to talk any other time," she teased. He turned a bright cherry, which Ino noticed.

"What's wrong, never had dango before?" She said snidely, trying to provoke him, but he glanced up and looked down again quickly, nervously. Ino seemed shocked at this new information. "You haven't, have you?" He didn't answer. "Have you?!" Her voice held laughter.

"No! I haven't! I've never had dango! Why does it matter?!" He shouted desperately, trying to get her to stop. "Can't I of never had it before?!"

"Oh, stop it Naruto," Ino dismissed him, "You're making a scene." It was true, some people were muttering as they stared. It was worse since it was Naruto making it. The ruby eyed Jounin frowned.

"Ino, please stop." Kurenai reprimined her sternly. Her tone turned a bit more gentle, "It's okay Naruto, but stop." She smiled and cheerily annonced, "It doesn't matter if you have or not because you're getting some now!" The people mostly went back to their own conversations.

"Here you go!" Saiya handed them each a stick of dango and a cup of red bean soup. It smelled heavenly. Akamaru lifted his head and yawned before going to Kiba and begging for some. He barked once.

"Yeah, I hear you." He pulled one off the dumplings and handed it to his dog, who gently took it into his mouth.

"So?" Kurenai questioned. "How do you like it?" Naruto ate one cautiously. He frowned. "You don't like it?"

"No, it's okay. Just... ramen is better." He stared at the stick of dumplings. "It tastes pretty good. Maybe..."

"Ino?"

"Ah," she looked kind of sheepish, "Sorry sensei, but I'm on a diet." Kurenai frowned once again but didn't say anything. She watched as Ino drank the soup, but fed the pastry to Akamaru, Kiba watching as his dog wagged his tail and licked the blond girl's fingers.

Their teacher smiled once again, enjoying the peace. "Perfect. Let's finish up so I can tell you what we're doing tomorrow."

They sat around for a few minutes, enjoying the scenes around them after Saiya took their cups that had held the soup. The sun had almost set all the way and cast an orangey glow about them. The blondes' hair glowed golden, shining in the dimming light. The brunettes' looked on curiously, noticing this, but didn't comment.

"So," Kurenai started just to catch their attention, "You guys didn't have to do a 'Survival Exercise' in order to see if you would become a team unlike some of the other teams. You're lucky I decided not to do that, choosing instead to work on teamwork during missions. With that being said, tomorrow we'll be working on some D-Rank missions. " Naruto and Kiba high fived, not realizing the horror. She smiled, crackling in her mind. "And if I think your ready, after a few, we'll start training."

"But...! Sensei, we're ready now!" Naruto shouted, standing up. "We can train!"

She smirked. "Naruto, I get to choose what we do because I'm the teacher, so I say we do missions."

"Naruto, stop complaining! Kurenai-sensei is right." Ino said dragging Naruto to sit back down. "We will be ready when she says so."

He pouted, but didn't say anymore.

Kurenai continued, "So, now you can all get a good nights rest. We'll meet up tommorrow at 8:30." She waved them off, standing herself. "Good night."

They all coursed their own version of 'good night' before walking toward their homes. Naruto in one direction, and Ino and Kiba the other seeing as the clan compounds were close together. Kurenai watched her students leave with a satisfied smile.

---_June 3rd; 8:28am_

She calmly walked to her team's training ground. They all sat around, Kiba (Akamaru took his side) and Naruto arguing about something with Ino looking annoyed.

"Boys, calm down. Now we are going to behave when we go to get our mission." Kurenai lectured, wishing this wasn't how they were to start off. "Hokage-sama himself will be there."

Naruto scoffed, abruptly changing the subject. "Yeah, well, that old man isn't that great. I could beat him anytime!" He pumped one fist into the air.

The girl Genin smacked the side of his head. "Right, like _you're _anywhere near Hokage-sama's level." She placed her hands on her hips, annoyance fluttering across her features. "That's sad that you think that you could."

"Oh yeah, then how come I knocked him out with my super-special technique?!"

Ino replied smoothly, as though she believed her opinion completely, "It was a fluke."

"Now, now, we need to get going." Kurenai interrupted. Ino smiled smugly and began walking toward the Hokage Tower. Naruto glared after her with Kiba shaking his head in the background to something Akamaru said.

"No, Akamaru. We have to." He ran up to Naruto and slung an arm around his neck. "Come on, buddy! Race ya there." And with that he took off running, Naruto hot on his heels.

The ruby-eyed Jonin sighed. She watched as the boys ran past Ino, knocking her down.

"Argh! Get back here!!" And Ino chased them too.

---

The three children were panting, with Akamaru sitting with his tongue out looking happy. He had fun chasing around the kids.

The Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, chuckled at the sight. "Well, it looks like you three had fun." He puffed his pipe once before setting it down on his holder. "I'm guessing that you're ready for a D-Rank mission. Right?" He directed the question toward Kurenai.

"Hai."

"Good, good." He smiled good naturedly and handed Kurenai a small scroll with the contents of their mission. "Finish that and then come back for another."

"Hokage-sama." She saluted and shooed her team out to complete the mission, fixing someone's fence.

* * *

**_AN: _**Okay. I know this isn't long. But I just didn't feel like writing. Yes, for more then a month. Ah, I suck. I know.

But on a newer note, it has been brought to my attention that some people miss the Genin Test to pass to become a team. I personally think that Kurenai felt she didn't want to fail her first team, and since Jounin get to choose weather or not they want to test their team, she deciced not to.


End file.
